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[Culex]

I'm getting a bit worried, too. I have a Bank of America Visa card that's been at a 5.99% fixed rate for 3 years now. I think my free ride is going to end soon.

 

[Cipherr]

I worked for Citi during my Senior year of Highschool in collections (lol the 90's)

Anyway, even back then during training one of the things that shocked all of us the most is that they told us a customers APR could be raised to the freaking cap for NO reason at all if they wanted to, because it was in the agreement. We would often get calls from people with great histories with the company whose APR just jumped for no damn reason. Then you would also have people with bad histories floating by with low APR's that should have gone up long time ago.

I'm one of those "responsible customers," and I don't feel safeguarded. I feel like they fucked me over. Yes, I realize that they have a legal right to do so and that I agreed in the original agreement that they could change my terms whenever, but that doesn't mean it's right.

I think what you mean to say there is "but that doesnt mean I have to like it". Its a little silly for you to read understand and sign the agreement saying they have to right to do this or that, and as long as they are doing this, your fine with it, but when they do "that" you feel the same.

Im not defending them however by any means. I carry no balance on any of my cards simply because I was lucky enough to land that job at Citi and learn how unbelievably fucked up the credit card companies are, and how they will DESTROY you if given the chance. But I still side with them when it comes to you signing shit. When you read the contract and sign it, people need to stop being of the mindset that "Sure it says they can fuck me sideways, but Im sooooo sure they wont! So its all good!". People do the same with insurance policies (the industry I work in now) and its just damn frustrating.

 

[Flo_Evans]

haha. My discover card went DOWN from 15.24% to 11.99% last month. Get your ass on the phone with customer retention.

Edit: it was actually 15.24%

 

[loosus]

I think what you mean to say there is "but that doesnt mean I have to like it". Its a little silly for you to read understand and sign the agreement saying they have to right to do this or that, and as long as they are doing this, your fine with it, but when they do "that" you feel the same.

Im not defending them however by any means. I carry no balance on any of my cards simply because I was lucky enough to land that job at Citi and learn how unbelievably fucked up the credit card companies are, and how they will DESTROY you if given the chance. But I still side with them when it comes to you signing shit. When you read the contract and sign it, people need to stop being of the mindset that "Sure it says they can fuck me sideways, but Im sooooo sure they wont! So its all good!". People do the same with insurance policies (the industry I work in now) and its just damn frustrating.

Look, there's an understanding that, even if it's written in blood that they can raise rates at any time for any reason, the rates will remain the same unless I'm late or otherwise break a rule. Otherwise, why not raise the rates all the time? I mean, they can, so why not?

Regardless of what is written down on paper, anybody with a fucking brain can understand that the rates will likely never been raised for those who follow the basic guidelines.

Am I calling for legislation against credit-card companies? Hell no. I fucking hate regulation, and I agree that anything that is written and agreed to without duress or undue influence by two parties is fucking sealed in stone.

But no, that in no way makes it right.

And believe me, this is coming from someone who thinks that homeowners who are being booted from "their" homes don't deserve shit -- regardless of their "well, I got kids!" excuses -- because they got themselves into the mess by signing mortgage agreements they clearly did not understand. They were swindled, but they ultimately were the ones who agreed to the terms. Having said that, the swindlers were definitely not using a moral compass, and it's not just a matter of "not liking it." You can be done wrong and still separate that from legality.

 

[f0nz0]

I'm getting a bit worried, too. I have a Bank of America Visa card that's been at a 5.99% fixed rate for 3 years now. I think my free ride is going to end soon.

get ready, mine changed from 8.99 which i had for about 2 years and got it changed to 23.99%!! never missed a payment, i called in and asked them why it happened, they just said markets changed, blah blah etc etc, i was however able to get it down to the 8.99% , heres the ticker though when i called in the representative never told me that if i continued to use the card the rate would go up back to the 23.99% so naturally i used the card and my rate went back up, i again called back in to customer service and they gave me this crap about how the representative should of told me that if i used the card the rate would go back up, i kept on repeating "but he never made it clear NOT to use the card or rate would go back up" , the rep kept on saying "i understand what you are saying but..." then i asked them how i could retrieve the recording of the original call, she said she couldnt, i asked to speak to a manager, she said there was no one else i could speak to on the matter, i asked her if she thought it was right , she said since she wasnt on the original call she couldnt speak on it, i told her i was on the original call and they never explained the terms, and again i asked if i could request to see if my call was recorded, she said no, then i just hung up the phone.

 

[Mar]

Look, there's an understanding that, even if it's written in blood that they can raise rates at any time for any reason, the rates will remain the same unless I'm late or otherwise break a rule. Otherwise, why not raise the rates all the time? I mean, they can, so why not?

Because people can't pay it nor will they agree to sign up for such a service that rapes them in the ass so bad. Sure, credit cards are a license to print money for the company. But they still have to be attractive to the customer or the venture is doomed before it begins.

 

[dskillzhtown]

Earlier this year congress had all these hearings designed to better the credit system and stop the credit card companies from playing willy nilly with interest rates. Nothing happened. Credit cards will surely be the next sub-prime.

 

[Lord Helmet]

For those saying that they will pay off and never use the card again, but keep it open, be careful doing this. You may want to make a small purchase periodically.

I paid off my highest (and oldest) credit card line in April. They closed my card after six months WITHOUT warning. I called and they said that it was closed due to inactivity. They said that I would have to re-apply. Needless to say, I said "no." My credit score took a 30 point hit the following month. Assholes. Barring any major issues, I'll be debt free in 10 months. The hell with them all.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Why is that so many people seem to think that their debts are with Visa/Mastercard/etc and not their banks?

It's the banks (or whoever issued the card) that raise the interest rates, not the credit card companies.

 

[Javaman]

I hate to bump this 2 month old thread, but thought this would be pretty relevant....

A (Very) Watchful Eye on Credit Card Spending
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106518/A-Very-Watchful-Eye-on-Credit-Card-Spending

In recent months, American Express has gone far beyond simply checking your credit score and making sure you pay on time. The company has been looking at home prices in your area, the type of mortgage lender you’re using and whether small-business card customers work in an industry under siege. It has also been looking at how you spend your money, searching for patterns or similarities to other customers who have trouble paying their bills.

In some instances, if it didn’t like what it was seeing, the company has cut customer credit lines. It laid out this logic in letters that infuriated many of the cardholders who received them. “Other customers who have used their card at establishments where you recently shopped,” one of those letters said, “have a poor repayment history with American Express.”

When I queried the company this week, before it changed its policy, I noted that if it wouldn’t tell people which establishments were suspect, people would have no choice but to guess. The truly paranoid, presumably, would stop using American Express cards altogether.

But American Express couldn’t possibly go public with such a list. If it did, the merchants on the list, who generally pay the company a lot of money to accept its cards, would have a fit and hurl their Amex terminals into the nearest body of water.

Now, the company says that there never was such a list. So what about the language in its letters to cardholders, which calls out particular “establishments” where cardholders had shopped, I asked. Well, apparently that was all just a big misunderstanding, despite the number of people that must have been in on drafting the notes in the first place.

American Express wouldn’t have been the first company to try cordoning off certain industries. Last year, CompuCredit, a subprime lender, got in trouble with the Federal Trade Commission for failing to disclose that it could reduce customers’ credit lines for using their cards at various establishments.

What was on CompuCredit’s no-go list? Marriage counselors, tire retreading and repair shops, bars and nightclubs, pool halls, pawnshops and massage parlors, among others.

Robert Manning, a longtime critic of the industry and the author of “Credit Card Nation,” also pointed out that American Express ran the risk of discouraging a lot of virtuous behavior. “If someone shops at the Dollar Store, he’s a prudent steward of his financial resources, but the blunt instruments at Amex suggest that he’s changing his financial behavior,” he said. “There’s this ecological fallacy that if I suddenly make a charge at Wal-Mart, my line of credit would get bumped down.”

Pretty sneaky of them.

 

[Diablos]

The things American Express and other card companies are doing is WRONG. It's a complete invasion of privacy.

It's like going to Target and trying to return something, and they pull up a file on you that says "oh sorry, we have found that you have a poor record with retaining high-priced products as you have returned 30% of them to Wal-Mart over the past 9 months." This is some serious Big Brother bullshit and it needs to be put to an end.

 

[WickedAngel]

Is it possible to opt out of this rape after it has started?

I was in the middle of a move when all this was going down and this notice likely got stuck in with the stack of irrelevant mail that I usually ignore because of my online account management.

If not, I might just have to suck it up and use every penny I have to pay my balance off.

 

[Ripclawe]

Thats what I did, paid off citi and put it in the safe. I will call now and then to see if they will drop the APR from 19.5

 

[WickedAngel]

Looks like the deadline has passed;

According to The New York Times, Citibank cardholders have until January to opt-out of the interest rate increase. If they choose to opt-out, they can continue paying and using their credit cards under the lower interest rate until the card expires. After expiration, though, those who opted-out would have to apply for new credit cards.

I'm going to pay this off. They're not getting any more fucking interest off me.

 

[br0ken_shad0w]

Is it possible to opt out of this rape after it has started?

I was in the middle of a move when all this was going down and this notice likely got stuck in with the stack of irrelevant mail that I usually ignore because of my online account management.

If not, I might just have to suck it up and use every penny I have to pay my balance off.

If you can't negotiate, I'd just transfer the balance to a new card. Luckily my Citi card already has a high APR (it was my first card), so I didn't even bother using it when I finally got better rates.

 

[zer0das]

Hmm... I checked my credit card, apparently my APR has dropped like 3% over the past few years. But it's still about 12%. :lol

 

[Mar]

I hate to bump this 2 month old thread, but thought this would be pretty relevant....

A (Very) Watchful Eye on Credit Card Spending
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106518/A-Very-Watchful-Eye-on-Credit-Card-Spending




Pretty sneaky of them.

American Express are assholes. The day we paid that card off, cut it up and closed the account, was a glorious day. I loved listening to them beg and tempt us with other offers to not close the account. They even later sent us a pre-approved credit card application for $50,000. I laughed and chucked it in the bin.

Fuckers are never getting any more of my money.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I hope Citi doesn't start messing around with student loans. I am still in repayment on one with about $7,000 left on the balance. I got a feeling that since they are going under fast they are going to try some dirty shit and demand the entire balance or start jacking up the interest rate. I better go back and read my terms.

 

[fart]

Look, there's an understanding that, even if it's written in blood that they can raise rates at any time for any reason, the rates will remain the same unless I'm late or otherwise break a rule....

Am I calling for legislation against credit-card companies? Hell no. I fucking hate regulation, ...

HOLY SHIT i thought i was numb to this place again and then WOOOOOOOOOOOSH

 

[elostyle]

Do these changes apply to money you already owe?

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

My interest rates remained where they were. In fact, American Express increased my credit line even further.

A lot of people that are saying "OMG, my APR went from 8% to 24% for no reason!" aren't telling the whole truth here.

 

[WickedAngel]

My interest rates remained where they were. In fact, American Express increased my credit line even further.

A lot of people that are saying "OMG, my APR went from 8% to 24% for no reason!" aren't telling the whole truth here.

Or perhaps you're the exception and the various articles about this very topic that would come of a simple Google search are correct.

 

[BronzeWolf]

8% APR's are ridiculous and I am surprised people thought those would be sustainable under the current circumstances

 

[swoon]

Looks like the deadline has passed;



I'm going to pay this off. They're not getting any more fucking interest off me.

you can still call and have it dropped to whatever it was before

 

[mj1108]

I got the same letter from them. I've always made my payments on time with them and everything....mine is going from 14.99 to 19.99%.

Bastards.

If I didn't have the history I do with them (10 years), I'd opt out and cancel it.

Forgot to update on this....but after I got the letter I called them up and asked if they could lower it. They ended up lowering it to 8.99% + prime (12.24%) no questions asked. Then a couple days later I ended up getting a credit line increase without asking from them.

Even though it's already past the opt-out date, call them up and ask them about getting it lowered. More specifically, as for an account review to see about getting it lowered.

 

[Tarazet]

I decided to try something out. I already have $12,000 on one Citibank card which is fixed at 4.99% for the life of the loan, as long as I make all the minimum payments and don't bounce checks. I paid a 3% upfront fee for this balance transfer. My other Citibank card has had the same offer going. It has an $8300 limit. I hemmed and hawed, and then as soon as American Express raised my interest rate, I decided to transfer it to this CB card and then request $4300 in cash - at the same interest rate. They've approved the AmEx payoff already, no idea if they'll approve the cash.

But that would mean I have $20,300 in unsecured loans, with the same company, at 5%. I have to shake my head at just how easy it is, even now. They can try to change the terms, and I'll just tell them no, fuck you very much, opt out and continue paying them off under the same terms.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Just checked mine...unchanged @ 6.740%

I just checked mine again (as I saw this thread revived).

It is currently at 5.990% APR (Citi Cash Rewards card) with no change in limit.

So, I guess you guys are doing it wrong.........................?

 

[DrEvil]

My rate hasn't changed, but TD Visa upped my limit by 750$, I called and had them lower it again; no way am I going to start over spending.


I was told I have exceptional credit, and they will sometimes automatically raise the limit on your card if they anticipate a large purchase (I do sometimes keep my card near the limit, but I pay it off quickly).

I told them not to change my card without my express consent, in the future.

 

[CharlieDigital]

My rate hasn't changed, but TD Visa upped my limit by 750$, I called and had them lower it again; no way am I going to start over spending.


I was told I have exceptional credit, and they will sometimes automatically raise the limit on your card if they anticipate a large purchase (I do sometimes keep my card near the limit, but I pay it off quickly).

I told them not to change my card without my express consent, in the future.

That's a mistake.

Should have kept it since it positively affects your credit score by decreasing your utilization.

In this situation, just don't use it....so simple.

 

[DrEvil]

That's a mistake.

Should have kept it since it positively affects your credit score by decreasing your utilization.

In this situation, just don't use it....so simple.

Yeah but if it's there, I'll use it.. I hate having high limits on my CC, so in this case it was just so I don't incur potential debt.